Saaldorf and Augsburg

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The next part of my travels after Salzburg was definitely the most authentic. I left Salzburg and crossed five minutes into Germany and met up with my German friends I met in Ireland, Sarah and Eva. For the first day and night, I stayed at Eva’s home. This was authentic Bavarian and I fell in love with the view and peacefulness. I could easily sit out there and enjoy good coffee and beer for the rest of my life. The night at Eva’s, I really got an authentic Bavarian experience when we went to a beer tent. It was simply a tent in the middle of a field, but filled with picnic tables squashed all together and lots and lots of Bavarian people dressed in their traditional clothes of lederhosen and drindles. There was also a Bavarian band playing some traditional music. I walked into the tent and was shocked. It was one of the craziest/most exciting things I have seen. Sarah even told me that it doesn’t get much more Bavarian than this. Of course being in that setting, I had to get a mass, which is a liter of beer, and participate in the fun, and it was definitely a good time. Before going to the beer tent, Eva drove Sarah and I around and I got to see the cottage her and her friends built themselves and it was quite impressive. We also went to a town on the German Austrian border so I could stand in two different countries at the same time and to also look at a beautiful bridge. After that, we made a stop at a lake and had a beer on the shore and I thought I was in heaven. Driving around the countryside reminded me of home and driving really anywhere outside of Jerseyville. The main difference, they live much simplier lives.

The following day, it was time to leave and go to Sarah’s house in a city outside of Munich called Augsburg. On our way, we stopped at one of Mad King Ludwig’s unfinished castles called hirremchiemsee. It is more like a palace, that was based on Versailles, although not as big, and was never completely finished because he died too early. The palace sits on an island in Lake Chiemsee, which is also known as the Bavarian sea because it is so big. It was a beautiful lake and provided more lovely Bavarian scenery. We also stopped in a former abbey on the island, where the German Constistuin was drawn up after WWII. After our visit, it was time to say goodbye to Eva as she was going back home and Sarah and I would continue to her house. We arrived at Sarah’s and got settled and went and did, what I consider, a very German thing. We biked to a beer garden that is owned by Sarah’s neighbor. Not much more German than that. We had a nice dinner and of course a beer before going back and relaxing after our long day. The next day, Sunday, Sarah and I went to church so I could experience what a German mass was like even though I could not understand anything. It was still very nice. Afterwards, we went to an abbey outside the city. There are abbeys all over Bavaria. This abbey still has nuns and we went into the beautiful church and went on a walk through the woods before grabbing a snack and drink at none other than the abbey’s beer garden. After this, it was back into Augsburg where I was given a tour of the city. I saw the Dom, basilica, which has an Evangelical church attached, the city hall, and the Fuggerei. Inside the city hall, was a beautiful room called the Golden Hall and it was quite impressive. The Fuggerei is the oldest social settlement for the poor and was founded in the 1500’s by the Fugger family. To this day rent cost less than 1 euro a year. After all this site seeing, it was time for dinner and a dinner it was. We were invited to Sarah’s sister and brother-in-law’s for and Italian dinner, he is Italian. It was quite the Italian dinner. A starter, 2 pasta courses, meat and salad course, and dessert. Of course, it was all washed down by Italian wine, with dessert followed by espresso and the option of any shot of liquor one wanted. It was so nice to be invited to the family dinner and I loved every minute of it. I cannot say enough about how nice Sarah’s family were, even trying to speak English to me every once in a while to keep me engaged. It was a wonderful way to wrap up my day and really my time in Augsburg. The next day was spent running some errands in Augsburg before catching the train to Munich. My last day before the train, I was able to experience a German bbq and its not the same as the States, but it was delicious.



I had a wonderful time at Eva’s and Sarah’s and I was so happy I got to see them one last time before I left. Both of their families were so welcoming and friendly, I felt at home. It was great to have this at the end of my trip after I had been travelling alone for a while. It definitely made me love Bavaria and Germany that much more!

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